Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a security system and method to prevent fraudulent activities occurring at a checkout terminal. More particularly, it relates to a method and system for detecting a fraudulent activities using a barcode scanner and a camera. The present invention, in part, provides a solution to detect a fraudulent activity known as “ticket switching”.
Description of Related Art
Retailer lose billions of dollars annually due to the theft and improper scanning of the merchandise they are selling. This can occur in numerous ways, due to both employees stealing from the retailers as well as due to customers stealing. Of all the methods used which result in loss to the retailer, a significant portion occurs at the checkout itself. Improper scanning, “sweethearting”, leaving items unscanned in carts and shopping baskets are just some of the ways in which customers and cashiers alike contribute to inventory “shrinkage” which results in a loss for the retailer.
One way in particular that a cashier or a customer can engage in fraudulent activity is through a process called ticket switching. Ticket switching is the process of replacing the barcode of one item with a barcode of another item of lesser value. (This is enabled by means as simple as pre-printing the less expensive barcode on a sticker before entering the store.) For instance, one could replace the barcode on the box of an expensive cordless drill with the barcode of an inexpensive tool. Thus, when the item is rung up for sale, the less-priced item is recorded instead. If it is the customer engaging in the fraud, the customer may hope that the cashier does not notice the difference.
Likewise, a customer could use a self-checkout register and bypass that mode of uncertainty altogether. If it is the cashier engaged in the fraud, often in collusion with the customer, he or she may have various other ways of engaging in the act of ticket switching. They may have barcodes ready on the side which are scanned in place of the certain expensive items. For instance, in a grocery store, the cashier may wish to ring up an expensive meat item for a friend by scanning in an inexpensive item, like a can of beans, in place of the meat barcode. Likewise, a cashier may stick the barcode of an inexpensive item to his or her wrist such that the wrist barcode gets scanned while the cashier moves a more expensive item (with its barcode un-viewable by the scanner) across the scanner.
Such fraudulent activities significantly contribute to the inventory shrinkage and subsequent loss of revenue for retailers. Therefore, what is needed is a system and method that protects retailers' assets from inadvertent or deliberate loss by preventing a fraudulent activity at a barcode scanner.